--- description: An exhibition at Janet Borden, Inc celebrates the holiday season with a selection of previously unseen images by the master photographer. title: Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb82fd193e3c9f38b/69879ad3cd1bba354c6f6a6f/245-17-recto.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander by [Phil Bicker](/author/phil-bicker/) ## Phil Bicker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 30, 2011 7:00 PM CUT  Pearl River, NY, 1975 Pearl River, NY, 1975Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc. by [Phil Bicker](/author/phil-bicker/) ## Phil Bicker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 30, 2011 7:00 PM CUT On his many trips across the United States, Lee Friedlander has famously documented the social landscape and tapestry of the country in his own inimitable, unique way. For more than half a century, his personal and often oblique visual language—filled with the recurring themes of reflections in mirrors, shadows, signs and cars— has provided a rich and distinctive portrait of America. Friedlander recently combed his archive in search of photographs that celebrate the season of Christmas. The result is a selection of photographs—all of which are new or have never been shown—currently on exhibition at Janet Borden, Inc. in New York. Consistent with Friedlander’s interests and style, the photographs—some which barely hint at the presence of Christmas—present an alternative and grittier view of the holiday. In Friedlander’s images, Christmas is sometimes filled with imprisoned Santas, neglected garlands and sobriety instead. The photographs are funny, poignant and stunning gift from a master photographer—all in time for the holiday season. Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander _is on view at_ [_Janet Borden, Inc_](www.janetbordeninc.com/ "undefined") _New York through Dec. 31._ _Lee Friedlander is an American photographer who has received three Guggenheim Foundation Fellowships. He is the first photographer to receive a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award. Monographs of his work include:_ Self-Portrait_,_ American Monuments_,_ American Musicians_, and_ America By Car_._  Pearl River, NY, 1975 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  New York State, 1966 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  Phoenix, 1970 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  NYC, 1963 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  Memphis, 1986 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  Haverstraw, 1976 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  Utah, 1988 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  Mississippi, 1971 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  NYC, 1966 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.  Texas, 2006 Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3783257/merry-christmas-from-lee-friedlander/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3783257/merry-christmas-from-lee-friedlander/"},"headline":"Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander","datePublished":"2011-11-30T19:00:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:17.940Z","description":"An exhibition at Janet Borden, Inc celebrates the holiday season with a selection of previously unseen images by the master photographer.","url":"https://time.com/3783257/merry-christmas-from-lee-friedlander/","keywords":["LightBox","cars","christmas","America","Out There","santa"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb82fd193e3c9f38b/69879ad3cd1bba354c6f6a6f/245-17-recto.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phil Bicker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/phil-bicker/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb82fd193e3c9f38b/69879ad3cd1bba354c6f6a6f/245-17-recto.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lee Friedlander","caption":"Pearl River, NY, 1975","creditText":"Lee Friedlander—Courtesy Janet Borden, Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3783257/merry-christmas-from-lee-friedlander/","name":"Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander"}}]}] ```